Wednesday, September 17, 2008
My Space is Everyone's Space!
After reading the article Dr. Luongo posted about a woman who was denied her teaching certificate due to a photo on her My Space page I have to say I am in agreement. I believe that teachers need to be role models for their students, and that duty doesn't end when they leave the school building. Though I personally do not have a My Space page I do not think it is wrong, but I do believe that anyone who wants a career in any profession, not just teaching, needs to consider the content of their page. My Space is open to anyone and everyone which means that potential employers, clients, customers, students, parents, coworkers - whoever - can view your page. This means that the content should be kept completely "G" and professional. Pictures and information that friends find funny other people may find offensive. In this woman's case she was shown drinking, but was of age. The problem is that she was studying to teach high school. Any of her students that viewed the page would probably not think "I too will be able to drink when I am old enough." Instead they will think "see Miss X parties, there's nothing wrong with me doing it too." She even stated on her page that she had nothing to hide and did not mind if her students viewed her page. I do not necessarily think she needs to be banned from teaching forever, but I do think she needs to grow up herself before she should be put in the position of being a role model to teenagers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I definitely agree with you! We as teachers must set the example for students, since they imitate us, and see us as their role model. We must be very careful with the things we put in our pages (if we have one), because that tells people who we are, and how we perceive the world around us. And yes, like you said many people can have access to these pages, and this can deteriorate the opinion they might have about us. So we as teachers need to be careful with the way we project ourselves.
I also agree with what you said. It is extremely important for teachers to be good role models and set good examples for students. This would include all areas of our daily lives including what we do via the internet. Great blog.
Post a Comment